Arrest warrant issued for Malema

Johannesburg - An arrest warrant for former ANC Youth League President Julius Malema was issued on Friday morning, City Press can reveal.

Malema is expected to appear in court in Pretoria or Polokwane next week on charges of money laundering, corruption and fraud.

The case relates to his Ratanang Family Trust and its shareholding in On-Point Engineering, a company that has made millions from Limpopo government tenders.

It was still unclear whether Malema would be jailed before he appears in court. His lawyers previously urged the National Prosecuting Authority and the Hawks not to arrest him but to tell him when and where to appear in court.

Malema reiterated this week that he would appear in court if charged.

He told City Press he had “not heard anything. I think if there is such a thing, I will be open about it,” he said.

A source close to Malema, however, confirmed that they had heard about it and were waiting for further details. “The law enforcement agencies know his address,” he said.

Malema said if he were charged, he didn’t know what he would be charged with. “So far we don’t know what is the issue, whether it is money laundering, fraud, corruption,” he said.

“I am not the first person to be arrested,” Malema said, adding that this had happened to politicians before and that charges were dropped. This is an apparent reference to President Jacob Zuma, who at the time believed there was a political plot to get rid of him through prosecution and corruption charges.

The NPA and Hawks have said they won’t comment on the arrest warrant.

NPA spokesperson Bulelwa Makeka said they don’t respond on arrest warrants and will only comment once an accused has appeared in court.